Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya on Saturday wondered whether it was the “duty” of his airline to fly loss-making routes when state governments are levying heavy taxes (on aviation turbine fuel). This came on a day when the
government reiterated that no bailout package had been proposed for Kingfisher.
In a message on Twitter, Mr Mallya wondered, “Is it Kingfisher’s duty to fly on loss-making routes when state governments tax heavily? Or should we be financially prudent and fly profitably?”
In another tweet, he wondered, “Every government has gone out of the way to support airlines and connectivity. In India, airlines are overtaxed and overcharged. Wonder why?”
The government made it clear on Saturday that “no bailout package is pending before the government nor has been proposed by the ministry of civil aviation for Kingfisher Airlines”. The government is, however, examining the possibility of encouraging banks to provide quick financial assistance in the form of loans to Kingfisher Airlines.
Kingfisher had earlier apologised to both the DGCA and passengers for the sudden cancellation of flights in the past few days, which left thousands of its passengers inconvenienced. The airline had announced on Friday that it had decided to “rationalise network, drop unprofitable flights and expedite its fleet reconfiguration”.
Meanwhile, the main Opposition BJP said that instead of any move to bail out the airline, the government needs to bail out the “aam aadmi”, who is bearing the brunt of price rise and corruption.